The Nine Bright Shiners
by EverShadow
Summary: Once there were nine that lived before the kingdom, before the Abhorsen. They wandered about the land, bringing peace to the unrested. However, secrets affairs are kept and one betrayal could kill them all.
1. Default Chapter

EverShadow: You do not know how long it has been since I have waited for this moment! GARTH NIX FINALLY HAS A PLACE ON FANFICTION.NET!!

Tiger of Blackness: Yes…quite…anyway…what's this story about?

EverShadow: Well, we all know that the bells were once people and I'm going to tell you about them. On with the show!

The Nine Bright Shiners

_            It was once said that the Seven bound the Eighth and Ninth. Yet their story is not written down in plain words and their battle has not been remember. Kibeth, otherwise known as the Disreputable Dog, used to be one of them. This is what happened._

            "Has it really been that long, Ranna?" The two friends embraced. 

            "Ah, Kibeth, it has been over three years since we had a gathering like this." The elder one lead Ranna into the house in the middle of the island.

            "Look who it is everyone!" Kibeth shouted. People's head turned and immediately, friends surrounded Ranna. Belgaer, Mosrael, Dyrim, always the most beautiful singer of all. Saraneth looked pleased to see her and despite the dark look and solemn welcome, Astarael was pleased to see her as well. However, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Orannis looking out of the window. His eyes were dark and clouded. 

            "Times have not been easy on Orannis. He has suffered more than any of us could imagine. The Dead Hands almost took him once when he was wounded." Belgaer whispered softly. "He came to us, near death but he clung on." Ranna looked at the silent figure. He seemed deep in thought and she was willing to bet that the thoughts weren't good. He had a long scar running down the side of his head, clawed there by some being. He had once been very handsome but the scar now jumped out more than his regular features. The last time she had seen him, he was always in good spirits. 

            "So, how has your journey fared?" Dyrim asked. Ranna snapped out of her own thoughts and smiled. 

            "The people have been kind even though the dead have plagued them for years. I sent them on their way through the ninth gate." She replied. 

            "Who? The dead or the people?" 

            "Both. Some were too tired to go on." Ranna winced at the memory of it all. It had not been an easy task, with crying and sobbing family members all around her. But she sang on, easing their pain by putting them to sleep. Ranna looked around, sensing that there was something wrong. "Wait, where's Yrael?" Panic rose in her throat. 

            "Yrael? He's probably in the garden, stalking some unknown prey." Mosrael said pointing to the window. Outside, a young albino boy raced around the garden and then lunged. When he reappeared from the tomato plants, he held up a mouse. 

            "He isn't going to eat it is he?" Ranna gasped but to her relief, Yrael let it loose. She looked back at the others. "Well, shall we swap stories about our journeys?" They sat down on the floor but Saraneth walked over to Orannis and sat down beside him. Ranna wasn't sure if they were talking but they seemed to share the same expression of loneliness and despair. 

            "Don't mind them. Saraneth hasn't had an easy time with her journeys either. She's met far more Dead Hands than any of us have save Orannis. The only reason she's here is because she can bind them to her will with her songs." Kibeth replied, brushing back her long black hair. 

            "The Dead Hands are everywhere now. We underestimated the number of them. It was foolish of us to wander around thinking that we could stop them all at once." Belgaer sighed. Ranna stared at each of her friends. They looked so tired from their journeys. She was tired too but she had better rest than any of them had. 

            "Why don't you sing us one of your songs, Ranna? We could use the sleep." Kibeth said. Ranna nodded and began singing. Almost immediately, a sort of tranquility set over the area. Even Orannis, with his cold eyes and fierce glare seemed to slip into a calm state. Outside, Yrael dropped in mid-pounce and fell asleep. Everyone else seemed to stay partially awake. When Ranna finished they shook themselves free of the effects and clapped. 

            "That was a better half rest I've had than a five day rest." Dyrim said, stretching her arms. Belgaer walked over to the window and looked out.

            "It seems like we should have warned Yrael. He's been caught off guard and now he's fast asleep." He laughed. Everyone except Saraneth and Orannis seemed to be uplifted. Even Astarael seemed more cheerful. At least she smiled once every so often.

            "My cousin should learn how to settle down a bit. After all, he's always in tune with nature and nature is often wild." Kibeth sighed and rubbed her head. (A/N: I'm making them cousins. The book doesn't tell about their relationship right?) 

            "How has he fared? He seems to be in better spirits than all of us combined." Ranna asked.

            "He has done better than all of us. I don't doubt that he has met Dead Hands along the way but something about him seems to be cleansed by nature itself." Suddenly, there was a shatter of glass and Orannis stood up, his hand bloodied by putting it through the window. He walked out of the room, followed by Saraneth.

EverShadow: What's up with the two of them?  
Tiger of Blackness: It's your fanfic.

EverShadow: I know. You'll find out…MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Tiger of Blackness: *Bangs EverShadow over the head with a pot* HA! TAKE THAT!! Well, I finally got her. This is Tiger of Blackness signing off.


	2. In the Garden

EverShadow: I…didn't need that…

Tiger of Blackness: *Still holding the pot* don't make me use this.

EverShadow: Meep. Well anyway, I see someone did a nice critique of this fanfic. Um…Lady Maeglin the Elvenjedi I believe? I know it's hard to understand at first but there will be more later on, including a few flashbacks that will answer your question. Remember, you cannot correctly assume thing from the first chapyter. Another thing you mentioned was the gender of the people. According to my knowledge, Astarael is a girl, they did explain that in Abhorsen, Mogget is a boy…yah…we knew that from his dwarf expeditions, Kibeth/Dog is a girl and Orannis is unknown. That's all the information I gathered from the two books that I have, Abhorsen and Sabriel but I have read Lirael. I just don't have it to confirm much. Well, anyway, if anyone finds anything wrong and has proof, please tell me so that I can correct it.

Tiger of Blackness: Ugh…open mouth insert foot.

EverShadow: My fanfic MINE!! 

Tiger of Blackness: Calm down! It's yours keep it!!! Make mistakes!! Look all you know is that Kibeth if female, Astarael is female, Mogget is male. That's all!! 

EverShadow: So? On with the show!

In the Garden

            "Orannis, let me see your hand!" Saraneth commanded. The tall dirty blond man looked down at her with his black eyes. She met his gaze, unwavering when the gaze turned into a glare.

            "Why do you insist on helping me?" He whispered. His voice broke in the middle of the sentence because he hadn't used it in a long time.

            "We all used to be friends, let me help you." She replied. 

            "And you have the stomach to look upon such a face as this?" He snapped gesturing to his scars. "I am hideous, I scared the children as I crawled through the villages, pleading for help. None of them dared to go near me, no matter how much I begged for a stale crust of bread. No one dared to throw water at me when I needed it most." His voice was now clear and true as it had been years before. Saraneth sensed the hatred in it, the hatred that once almost took her as well. 

            "I don't care what you look like but if you're just going to leave that hand to get infected then I have to help." Her voice was stronger and he gave in. She tore off a bit of her sleeve and bound his hand. "That will do for now. Let's see if we can get any herbs from the garden to help ease the pain and prevent infection." 

            "Since when did you care about me so much?" He asked.

            "Since you entered the house and became our friend again." She replied as she led him to the garden. Orannis stared at the girl. He towered over her though she wasn't short at all and yet she was leading him wherever she chose. Saraneth had grown quite a lot both in mind and body. She was beautiful with her wavy black hair that was so often brushed back by a pale hand. Her journey, Orannis knew, was no less difficult than his. She had been assigned a particularly difficult region because her voice was strong and she had strength enough to send many Dead Hands and other beings through the Ninth gate. Physically, she looked frail and he was sure that he could easily snap her arm with both hands. Even though he didn't look like someone with that much strength, he did have it. Traveling and battling had caused him to grow thin, almost thin enough to see the bones but whatever flesh he had was muscle.

            "Where are these herbs that you were talking about?" He asked straining to break the silence between them. His hand did throb with pain. They stepped over the unconscious Yrael, Saraneth smiling gently at him before stooping down to pluck some greens. She crushed the leaves in between her hands and eased the salve onto his now unbandaged hand. The pain didn't leave immediately but the pain did stop the throbbing.

            "You're a very good medic." Orannis said quietly. 

            "I had to know, everywhere I went people were suffering." Once again there was pain in her eyes as the memories of bloodshed and death became the topic again. Orannis felt that he should change the subject.

            "Do you remember the last time we saw each other?" He asked. "Right before the Parting?" That memory was painful as well but not as much and Saraneth forced herself to listen. "Remember when Yrael fell into the water trying to catch a fish and almost got carried away before Kibeth jumped in and saved him?" She tried to remember but so much had happened since then that she had forgotten. 

            "I can't…" She whispered.

            "Try…we were years younger back then. I said something to you that you promised to do if you were in trouble." She remembered Yrael falling and Kibeth jumping into the water in one smooth motion. She remembered how the two looked when they came out, drenched. Everyone broke into laughter, even Astarael. She wasn't as serious back then. "Saraneth?" She looked up at him and bit her lip, shaking her head.

            "I remember the Parting. We had decided to rid the world of manifestations of undead beings. We had all been assigned a region of the world according to our powers. That was years ago, more than a decade ago. We were children; we wanted to bring peace to the lands, thinking that there wouldn't be much danger. We were wrong, there was danger." She tried to think about it again. "I remember everything but what you said to me." Orannis felt sad, everything but what he had said to her.

            "I told you that if you ever got into too much danger, you call me for help and I will rescue you." Saraneth's eyes flew open in remembrance. _Saraneth, if you are in danger, call my name and I'll be there to save you. Promise me that you'll return, that you'll call me if you need help._

_            I promise…_And she had called. Her first encounter with the dead she had called his name for help. He never arrived and she forgot all about her promise.__

_            Orannis! Help me! Why aren't you here?_ She closed her eyes, remembering that day. Tears welled up in her eyes. There was blood, her blood and the insistent roar of death in her ears. _I need you…Orannis!!_

EverShadow: Well, there you go, the next chapyter. I hope it answers some of your questions. Is there something between the two that we don't know about?

Tiger of Blackness: I dunno. Ask yourself.

EverShadow: Self, is there something between Orannis and Saraneth?

Self: ……………

Tiger of Blackness: All right, that's just too much for me. I'm going to bed.

EverShadow: This is EverShadow going to bed as well…er…signing off.


	3. What Secrets Lie

EverShadow: Yay! The next chapyter!! I'm so glad!!

Tiger of Blackness: So far you haven't been flamed. 

EverShadow: Indeed…no flames please!!! My fragile personality and self-esteem can't handle any hurtful words. Tiger has already lowered my self-confidence down to a lowly negative 399…

Tiger of Blackness: One of my proudest moments.

EverShadow: Sniff…on with the show.

What Secrets Lie

            Astarael had never been much of a social person but around friends such as these, she felt more comfortable than ever. Years had past, physical and mental scars had been inflicted. All of them had grown since they set out to calm the world infested with the Dead. Such joy they had before the Parting, such naïve thoughts about being the "heroes" and all of that. Yet now they had all experienced the truth of Death and the gates. She thought back to when she younger, happier, safer. Out of all of them, she had been the one to suffer the most besides Orannis.

            "Astarael, what happened on your journey?" Kibeth asked.

            "Nothing that you haven't experienced. I walked almost into the Ninth Gate while trying to send a Mordicant through that gate. Too much temptation was there and I nearly fell prey to it." She replied. There was a long silence until Ranna, unsure of herself, broke the silence.

            "Was it right to send ourselves into such danger? Did we do the right thing? We have sent many Dead through the Ninth Gate but there are still more. Did we make a difference?" Belgaer patted her gently on the shoulder. 

            "We did all we could to help this world." Mosrael replied. "We'll have to try again until we bring peace to the world."

            "We'll die before then." Astarael said. "The Dead will keep appearing and we won't be around to stop them. They'll kill us." There was a long silence. Ranna looked outside and suddenly gave a small cry of surprise.

            "Hey, look at this!" She hissed and they all crowded around the window. "Isn't that Saraneth and Orannis?" 

            "I don't know who else that could be." Kibeth said sarcastically. They tried to listen closely at what the two were conversing about. _I really don't see what the point of all of this is,_ Astarael said. _It's none of our business. _Mosrael's long blond hair covered most of their vision and they had to push it out of the way to see the two. Astarael looked through her wise black eyes, seeing the pain that ran across Saraneth's face in a brief moment. Saraneth walked away to the far corner of the island.

            "Well that was interesting." Ranna said.

            "More like boring," Kibeth replied. "We didn't hear anything and nothing happened between the two." 

            "I always did sense some sort of connection between the too." Mosrael said calmly while smoothing out Belgaer's messy brown hair.

            "Will you leave me alone?" Belgaer whined slightly while moving away. "So what if I have messy hair?" Outside, they heard a thud and found that Yrael had woken up and accidentally walked into a tree branch, still in a daze. He rubbed his head angrily and cursed at the tree. Everyone looked at him and laughed. Even the broken window with the bloodstains were forgotten…a mistake that would not be easy on them…

            "Say, aren't you hungry?" Ranna asked everyone. "I could cook something up." Astarael didn't laugh though she would have liked to. Ranna wasn't the best cook around and she would rather walk into Death willingly than eat something the Sleeper made. She was sure that whatever Ranna made would send all of them through the Ninth Gate in no time at all. Everyone around her laughed nervously.

            "I'd better do the cooking." Belgaer said while getting up calmly. Ranna gave a sigh and patted her own head.

            "Is my cooking that bad?" She asked jokingly.

            "It would most likely send us through a fairly painful death." Kibeth sighed and placed her hand on Ranna's shoulder. Astarael gave a brief, almost forced smile at them and resumed her own thoughts. No matter how she tried to act happy, everyone could always see through her façade. However, they knew it would make her even unhappier by mentioning it so everyone chose to ignore it and Astarael was grateful. Outside, they heard a loud splash and looked out to see Yrael dripping wet with a flopping fish in his mouth. Kibeth walked over to the window and opened it.

            "Yrael! You'd better cook that thing before you eat it!" She yelled. However, he merely grinned mischievously and bit down with his razor sharp teeth. Kibeth sank back onto the couch and gave an exasperated sigh. "He never listens! Do you have any idea how hard those bloodstains are to get out of his clothes?!" 

            "He's your cousin, Kibeth. Besides, let him do what he wants. He's got to enjoy life as much as possible before we all cross into Death forever." Mosrael said. Everyone went silent. The only sound that they heard was the pinging of the water boiling in the kitchen. Astarael broke the silence.

            "I have been thinking." Ranna looked at her companion. Since when was Astarael _not_ thinking? "We can only stay in this world for so long. Why don't we combine our powers to create a bloodline destined to put the dead to rest?" More silence until Ranna, now excited by the new idea, spoke up.

            "That's a great idea! Let's do that." She exclaimed.

            "One bloodline won't do. If one bloodline had all the power, they'd become corrupt. We must evenly divide the power so that one person will not have all the power. Combined perhaps they would have enough but not without one." Dyrim said. 

            "I get to do a royal bloodline!" Ranna shouted now overexcited. "Please?" 

            "Go ahead. But royal bloodlines are hard to create. I'll help you." Dyrim said.

            "We need a race that will do exactly as we have done. Someone who will keep the dead down." Astarael said.

            "But how? We can't give that one person all our powers!" Mosrael argued.

            "Exactly. We must put it in a different form, lower in power but yet powerful enough to bind the dead." She replied. There was silence in the room for a few seconds. Then, Belgaer spoke up.

            "How about bells?" 

            "Bells?" Everyone repeated.

            "Yes, I am fond of bells and they all have a unique tone. But we have to have instructions on how to ring them. No one but the chosen ones can ring them." He suggested.

            "Interesting idea, Belgaer. I will handle that and the making of this bloodline. I think it will be a bloodline of necromancers…only…different." Astarael thought for a while. "Abhorsens. They will lay the dead to rest." 

            "I will create a bloodline of people who will see into the future." Mosrael said. It was always Mosrael who wanted to see the future. Her optimism was astounding. "And I will think of what to call them." 

            "I will create a bloodline who can create items of great power and magic. They will be inventors, builders of some sort." Belgaer said. "I will infuse them with my knowledge." Everyone turned to Kibeth, the only one in the room who hadn't thought of anything.

            "I…I don't know what I want to create. You've taken all the good ideas…" She replied. "I think I'll need some time."

            "What about Saraneth, Yrael and Orannis?" Belgaer asked. 

            "Yrael is far too young to take part in such a dangerous task. After all, if something goes wrong, it could cost us our lives or we could accidentally bind ourselves." Astarael said. "And Orannis is too powerful. I have seen directly into his eyes. He has eyes filled with hatred and he is no longer as trustworthy as he was before." Ranna fidgeted uncomfortably at her words. She knew Orannis had changed but he was still their friend, right? She looked to the others to see what they thought of Astarael's words. She was shocked to find that the look on their faces agreed with the horrible thought. 

Tiger of Blackness: *Snores*

EverShadow: It wasn't that boring was it?

Tiger of Blackness: *Snores* Did you say something?

EverShadow: ARGH! Nevermind! You're too lazy to think about anything else but food and sleep!

Tiger of Blackness: Hey…hunting's not easy work! Prey doesn't just come to you and say "Eat me!" 

Muffin: Eat me!  
Tiger of Blackness: Gladly! *Chomp*

EverShadow: O.O EverShadow signing off.


End file.
